This summer, the Globe’s chief film critic Barry Hertz set out to do the seemingly impossible: to rank the 100 best Canadian movies ever made.
We asked Globe readers to weigh in on our list, and naturally, you had many opinions. Here’s a roundup of what you told us about the films we missed and the films that didn’t deserve to be on the list.
(Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.)
Fab list! You captured ALMOST all of the most influential, innovative, and important Canadian films of all time. The only glaring omissions for me are The Red Violin (1998) and Kissed (1996). -Jeff Neal, Yarmouth, N.S
One of my favourite Canadian films is Francois Girard’s The Red Violin (I may be biased given that I was a teenager playing in a youth orchestra at the time). The scale and ambition of the movie, seen through its plot spanning several centuries and taking place across Italy, Prussia, Britain, China and Canada, certainly justifies its place amongt the greatest Canadian movies. In a Canadian movie industry dominated by films telling small, local, and intimate stories, the magnitude and polish of The Red Violin certainly stands out. -Yuheng Zhang, Montreal
Paperback Hero. I think this 1970s movie is a touching depiction of small-town Canadiana, “big fish in a small town” masculinity and mental health issues, community transition, with a dash of hockey thrown in to complete the Prairie landscape. Gordon Lightfoot’s hit song and Keir Dullea’s protagonist both add something special to the mix. -Gord Enemark, Victoria
Paperback Hero. A small-town Saskatchewan hockey talent that never made it - very 1970s. An ode to all of us who thought we were something special. -Alan Parkinson, Comox, B.C.
Readers didn't love eXistenZ, David Cronenberg's weird little sci-fi meditation on technology and virtual reality, which was on Barry Hertz's top-100 list.Supplied
I tend towards the genre stuff and i think Hobo With A Shotgun and/or Wolfcop could have made it on here but the list is pretty complete (and great!). Big thumbs down for eXistenZ, mind you - probably David Cronenberg’s worst! -Kyle Menzaloid, Toronto
eXistenZ is one of the worst movies I’ve ever sat through. A great one that missed your list was Les 12 travaux d’Imelda (The 12 Tasks of Imelda), by Denis Villeneuve’s brother, Martin. It’s one of the funniest-ever Canadian films, with a bravura performance by Martin Villeneuve himself as the main character, Imelda. -Vincent Gardner, Sherbrooke
I can’t believe you didn’t include Anne Wheeler’s wonderful Bye Bye Blues, my all-time favourite movie. Also, My American Cousin, so appropriate in these Trump-afflicted times. -Patricia Hocker, Victoria
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal PersonSupplied
Humanist Vampire Seeking Suicidal Consenting Person belongs on the top 50 Canadian movies list AND the Top 50 Vampire Movies worldwide list. A delightful comedy that brings Quebec, adolescence and vampires all together! -John Anderson, Boston
Jesse Noah Gruman in 2020's The Kid Detective.levelFILM
The Kid Detective. Funny, heartbreaking. Not sure if it fulfills your criteria re: funding, but filmed in North Bay. I’ve seen this movie 3 or 4 times and have cried at the very last scene each time. The hiding-in-the-closet gag is so great; execution is incredible. -Shannon Farrell, Toronto
Wedding In White (1972). There were very few Canadian movies at the time that were quintessentially Canadian.-Peter Arnold, Victoria
Helena Bonham-Carter and Clive Russell in Margaret's Museum.HO / The Canadian Press
The missing Canadian film that I would have included is Margaret’s Museum. A beautiful film of struggle and compromise set in Glace Bay. This one was personal, too. My mother left Glace Bay at 18 in 1961 and got shivers in the old Capitol Theatre north of Ellington Avenue when the sirens blared and the whole town stopped, waiting for news of the mine collapse. -Carl Bourassa, Port Elgin, ON
You Are Here (Daniel Cockburn) -Cerebral, existential, poetic, and absurd, like a brilliant Zen koan. I could watch it on an endless loop.
The Twentieth Century (Matthew Rankin) - As much as I loved Universal Language, Rankin’s debut is hilarious and screams Canadian from start to finish (in a good way).
Brand upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin) - My favourite Maddin (although I haven’t seen them all).
Genese (Philippe Lesage) - Fearlessly different, engaging, and my introduction to Theodore Pellerin. -Trevor Ball, Toronto
The 1984 documentary Waterwalker deserves its own place on the 100 best Canadian films list. For some, including me, watching this film (on the NFB site) is an annual ritual. It follows filmmaker, artist and naturalist Bill Mason (1929-1988) on a canoe trip through the Ontario wilderness around Lake Superior. Narrated by Bill himself, with haunting music by Bruce Cockburn, it is described by the NFB as “an ode to the majesty of nature.” It was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (then known as the Genies) and was the final film of Bill Mason before his untimely death. -Louise Schwartz, Ottawa
Harmony Cats is one of my favourite Canadian movies. A great story about a snooty symphony violinist who loses his job and must join a country music band playing bass in order to make ends meet. -Robert Udell, Cumberland, B.C.
What happened to Highway 61 - McDonald irector, McKellar starring? Ultimate Canadian road trip, as Canadian road trips often do - start in Canada and end in the U.S. Specifically relevant today. Should earn a post-Canadian Screen Award, if there is such a thing. -Andrew Kooiman, Markham, ON
Highway 61 is one of the funniest movies ever made in Canada. -Brent MacInnes, Maxville, ON
Still Mine is a beautiful film. James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold are gorgeous and heartbreaking together, supported by a wonderful cast. A farmer / carpenter fights against small town bureaucracy to try to build a cottage for his wife who is living with dementia. It’s just gorgeous. (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, if anyone cares...)-Hollie Stewart, Kingston, ON
There are two omissions on your list, probably because they are short films. The first is Paddle to the Sea, a 1966 NFB production. I saw it as kid in Scouts, projected on a small screen in the gym where we paraded every week. It stayed with me and I was able to reacquaint myself with years later via the internet. The second is The Railrodder, another short, staring Buster Keaton. It follows him as he crosses Canada in a railway motorcar speeder. Another must-see for any Canadian. -Dave Morgan, Ottawa
Ticket to Heaven. I’m still thinking about it, this many years later. It struck fear in my heart about how terrifying cults are and how difficult they are to leave. -Bonnie Haggis, Toronto
Owning Mahowny (2003), directed by Richard Kwietniowski. Winner of the Gemini for Best Canadian Picture in 2004. Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Hurt, Maury Chaykin, Sonja Smits, based on a true story of a Canadian embezzler. Anyone and everyone who likes to gamble should see this film. It would have been #1 on my list. -Paul Armstrong, Ottawa
Falcon Lake, directed by Charlotte Le Bon (2022) is an incredible coming-of-age feature made with such precision and nuance. Definitely deserves to be listed alongside films like Blue Heron and The Maiden. Also, The Strings (Ryan Glover, 2020) - a micro-budget and self-funded first feature which uses its limitations to its advantage to create an expertly crafted sense of existential dread. It also features an incredible performance from first-time actor and musician Teagan Johnson, who wrote and performed the music in the film, and stunning cinematography showcasing a desolate and wintery Prince Edward Island. -Krista Dzialoszynski, Toronto